The Difference Between Flying and Falling
by Bookaholic711
Summary: Lily is always tripping over her own feet. But it takes a million trips and hurt knee to make her realize that James is always falling too.


**_**Disclaimer: All characters, locations, etc are property of J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.**_**

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><p>"Bloody hell," Lily whispered. "If I trip one more bloody time…"<p>

"Lil, I love you to bits and pieces, but can you please stop muttering to yourself? Much appreciated. Thanks."

Lily's eyes tightened and she shot a glare at Emmaline Vance, who had just swept into her seat in Slughorn's Potions class.

"Psh," Lily responded. "A proper friend would be awarding me for managing to trip over nothing but thin air five times in one morning. Surely that's a Guinness World Record."

"Not that I have any idea what that is," Emmaline said, "But I assure you that no one will ever recognize you for your talent in falling, Lily."

"I would," Marlene quipped from Lily's other side. She sat down next to Emma and smirked at Lily. "Any talent as prominent as Lily's should be duly noted and rewarded."

"Marlene," Lily warned. "Shut up."

"Oh come on, Lil," she smiled. "The award was your idea. Besides, what did you do this time?"

"I tripped. I think I twisted my knee out."

"Were you staring at James again?"

"Bugger off," Lily said, her voice indignant and slightly screechy. "It really hurts, and I absolutely was not! No! I wouldn't…"

Emmaline nodded her head. "I see."

Lily recoiled. "Huh. You usually don't believe me."

"Oh I don't," Emma said. "I see that you are completely and utterly in denial. Don't worry. It's my job to fix that. I'm a professional."

"Yeah, a professional moron," Lily mumbled under her breath.

"Lil?"

"What?"

"You're muttering again."

"Is it normal to trip as often as you do, Evans?"

"Go away, Sirius. I'm not in the mood."

"Really, Lily?" Sarcasm dripped from Sirius' voice. "With that jolly smile you've had on your face all day, I thought a nice explanation would do you good. Make you a little less cheerful."

Lily closed her eyes for a second, stopping in the middle of the corridor. Sirius stopped by her side, and she turned to look at him, taking a deep breath.

"Can I help you, Black?"

"Ooh, not very friendly."

"Look," she said, putting her hand over her forehead and shoving her bag up her shoulder. "Any other time, I'm perfectly game for a little playful banter. But right now my knee hurts like hell and I just got a D on my Transfiguration paper and I _really_ just don't have the energy to bicker with you right now."

Sirius smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes.

Was it really so hard to understand that she was having a crap day? Sirius had become something of a friend over the last couple of months, weren't friends supposed to be understanding about bad days? They were supposed to comfort you, weren't they? They weren't supposed to make snide comments. Perhaps that was how blokes dealt with bad days. Lily wouldn't know; she'd never spent much time around Sirius and his mates. Except Remus, but he was so much more like her than his friends that he hardly counted. And the last few months as Head Girl she'd been interacting with James quite a lot… but back to Sirius. Surely he would understand. Surely—if he didn't—she was at liberty to smack him.

Lily entered back into reality to find Sirius studying her rather curiously.

"Fine, Evans," he said. "Everyone has crap days. I recommend a sandwich."

Lily, sighing in relief was already turning away to head to the library, but Sirius called after her.

"Seriously though, Evans," he said. "You should ask James for help with Transfiguration. He's dead amazing at it."

Lily gave an obligatory laugh and turned to wave before continuing down the corridor, but Sirius wasn't wearing his trademark suggestive smile. He looked like he actually meant it. He gave her a somber nod before turning to walk in the opposite direction.

"Heads will roll!" Lily yelled to the empty stairwell, pulling her foot out of a trick stair and pushing herself up from the ground. She grabbed her bag from a stair above her and continued down the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing.

All she wanted to do was go the library and figure out what the blistering hell her Transfiguration essay was supposed to be about in the first place. And yet, she'd managed to get herself caught in a trick stair and wrenched her knee yet _again_. That bloody knee would be lucky to make it through the day.

"I will chop you," Lily threatened. "One more twinge, and I am cutting you _off_."

One more floor. One more floor, and then she would be just a hallway away from the library. She could get there. The library, where she could sit. The library, where she be miserable about her grades in privacy. The library, where surely there would not be footsteps approaching her from behind and...

"Ooph!" Lily squealed. That was it. Her knee had given out, and she pitched forward, slamming face first into the floor. This time, she didn't even bother to push herself up.

"Lily!" the footsteps that she had heard building behind her became louder and faster. "Merlin. Are you okay?"

She winced at the loudness of the person's voice, felt them kneel beside her.

"Lil?"

_That's it_, she thought, _I am never getting up from this floor. Never_.

She knew that voice. And of course it was him.

"Fine, James. Just brill."

"Can you move?" he asked, ignoring her sarcasm. "Can you get up?"

"Oh yes," Lily said. "But why would I? Floors are so lovely. Especially this one. Don't you think?"

"Er…" James responded eloquently. "Yes. Brilliant."

"Hmm."

Lily was perfectly content just to lay there forever. The floor was cold stone, but she could feel James' heat next to her. It was almost as good as that time when he—

Um, no. Lily had promised herself that she wasn't mentioning that time anymore. She quickly repressed those thoughts.

And then James stroked her hair with one hand, reaching around her waist with the other.

Right… what was that about repression?

"Come on, Lily," he whispered, his head touching hers as he whispered in her ear. "Let's get you to the hospital wing."

"I don't want to go the hospital wing," she said as he pulled her to her feet. "I want to go to the library."

"The library?" James sounded genuinely surprised. "Why on Earth would you want to go there?"

She smiled a little to herself, extremely glad that she was facing away from him. "Some people happen to enjoy the library, Potter."

"Your knee just gave out on you, Lily. You need to get it looked at."

"Psh," she said. "For someone who falls as often as I do, having a broken knee isn't that big of a deal."

James put one hand on her shoulder, swinging himself around to face her. "You do not have a broken knee," he amended. "And you don't fall that much."

She scoffed. "Please, James. I fall about a zillion times a day. Not everyone can have a perfect, graceful gait like you do."

"What are you talking about? I fall all the time."

Lily rolled her eyes, taking in the false innocence with which he said this. "Yeah, right, James. I've never seen you fall. You're always walking along with your mates, messing about and chatting and looking in different directions to flirt with giggling third years and I have never in my life seen you break your manly stride."

_Whoa,_ Lily thought. _Where did that come from? Manly stride? What the bloody hell does that mean?_

She waited patiently for James' expected comeback. "_You watch me walk, Evans? Why? Can't keep your eyes off my perfect arse, huh?"_

But as she watched him, James' eyes weren't mischievous. In fact, he looked more pensive than anything. Almost as if he was on the verge of reaching an epiphany.

"No," he suddenly whispered, almost to himself. "No, I fall every day. I do. All the time. More than you."

"No one falls more than I do," Lily said, the fight gone from her voice. Where was the comeback? And what was that look on his face? She had expected his playful smile. She loved that smile.

"I do," he said again. He was looking at her when he said it. "There are more types of falling than just physical, Lil."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that metaphorically I fall all the time. It's like hiking down a slippery slope and my feet just come out from under me. I'd reach the bottom anyway, but since I tripped so much, I've gotten here a lot faster."

"Here?"

"Oh yes," James said, a little bit of his smile coming through. "Here. Right at this moment."

He leaned into her a little, and Lily felt her heart pick up.

"See, Lily, every time I see you," he paused, either for breath or effect, and Lily found herself leaning into him as well. "Every time I see you, I trip. And I fall a little more."

Her head tilted subconsciously to the side. "You fall a little more?"

He nodded, just barely perceptible. "A little more in love with you."

She closed her eyes. "It's okay, James," she whispered softly.

"Hmm?"

"I fall too."

He leaned forward across the final distance between them and their lips met. Lily felt herself spiraling down, falling, falling falling into bright white abyss. Falling, falling in love.

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><p><em><strong>AN: I think that "FINALLY" is probably the only thing to really be said, so the list is short. <strong>_

_**1) Project PULL. Check it out. **_

_**2) Thanks xXIceShadowXx**_

_**3) I'm a moron. The wrong account? Really, Sofi?**_


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